Netflix show Bridgerton’s celebration of the cleavage has given us all a lift says ex-Page 3 girl Peta Todd

BRIDGERTON has brought back the bosom.

The heaving busts on show in the blockbuster Netflix period drama have sparked a fashion craze, with searches for figure-enhancing corsets up 1,000 per cent.

But it’s not just the leading ladies who are reviving the cleavage craze.

On Sunday, Dancing On Ice host Holly Willoughby’s plunging neckline sparked complaints that her gown was too raunchy for a family audience. Maya Jama and Amanda Holden’s up-front looks have previously prompted similar concerns.

Then on Wednesday GMB viewers were treated to an eyeful when host Susanna Reid wore a revealing wrap dress by Nobody’s Child that flaunted her bust.

Former Page 3 model and proud G cup Peta Todd is thrilled that big boobs are getting their moment again.

Here, the mum of four says there is nothing anti-feminist about showing them off and thinks Bridgerton is brilliant.

PETA SAYS...

NETFLIX has become the saviour of our evenings, the soundtrack to drown out the wails of home-schooling and the escape we crave from our own four walls.

And as far as escapism goes, there is nothing finer than Bridgerton.

The series has it all: Wit, opulence and its fair share of heat — the ­perfect distraction from a cold, grey, locked-down January.

But the thing that has particularly caught my eye is not the decadent Georgian decor, but the sea of divine heaving decolletage.

I have never seen a TV show embrace the fashion of a fuller bust in the charming, inclusive and unapologetic manner of Bridgerton.

And I am not alone in my awe. A staggering number of people are ­trying to recreate the booby look, as sales of corsets soar.

It’s a pleasure to see necklines and jewellery highlighting cleavage, large and small, without the characters owning them being cast as women of the night or dowdy mothers.

‘One of the most endearing aspects of Bridgerton’s celebration of cleavage is that it knows no age limit’

My own body image has evolved over the years, and my breasts in particular have played more than a small role in that.

As a Page 3 model they were centre stage in my career. But away from modelling I always felt I had to keep my larger chest covered.

Fuller front

As a parent you are expected to shun any image that could make you appear anything other than just a mum. I often wear loose clothes, so as not to attract attention or give off a certain impression.

Before this moment in TV history, the fashion trends I’ve seen have never really favoured the fuller front.

In the Nineties and early Noughties I longed to be able to wear a ­spaghetti strap or beautifully delicate underwear, but it was never to be.

Big-boobed ladies often found fashionable clothes didn’t accommodate their cup size. Now we can get them out and still be stylish.

One of the most endearing aspects of Bridgerton’s celebration of cleavage is that it knows no age limit. The implication that once women hit 50 they should hang up their Wonderbras and dress only in a palette of biscuit tones has been banished.

Refreshingly, Lady Portia Featherington, played by Polly Walker, 54, has her incredible bust on almost constant display. It is not something for TV bosses to conceal beneath yards of draped fabric, which has been the fate of previous period drama matrons.

For once in TV history, she and Bridgerton matriarch Lady Violet, played by Ruth Gemmell, 53, have as much handsome bosom on show as the ingenues. It is the breath of fresh air we urgently needed.

There have always been muttered rules about clothing for women of a certain age — no high hems, no plunging necklines and absolutely nothing sexy.

So it is a real fist-pump moment to see Bridgerton fly a boob-shaped flag in the face of such ageist sexism.

It seemed to me that before this, fashion was no place for cleavage. But this could all change now, with the Bridgerton trend.

The heaving bosom of our heroine Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor, in her iconic white dress at the ball is a thing of beauty.

I wish the image of that beautiful gown and heaving bosom had been around when I was planning my 2013 wedding and hated looking for a dress. The day after our wedding, a newspaper ran a picture of me in my gown and the first comments online said I looked awful as you could see my cleavage, and that I should have covered up.

If only the booby Bridgerton posse were about then, making busty-ness en vogue. Boobs are not offensive and clearly the 63million people who have so far streamed the drama agree.

It is a delight to see fine chests being celebrated, as in the past ten years or so bosoms have been left behind by, well, behinds!

Kardashian-shaped derrieres have been a must-have, and I feel like the lowly boob has been waiting for its comeback. Now Bridgerton has brought it back with a bang of ­beautifully-hoisted bangers.

Boobs should never be something you feel defines you, or stops you wearing what feels good.

The reception to the boob revival just highlights that if you want to wear that bikini at the pool but are worried the other mums will think you are a maneater because you dare to not hide those puppies — go for it.

Next time you feel you should cover up, think: “What would the wardrobe department in Bridgerton do?”

And for those who say the boobage in Bridgerton is non-feminist, I say: “What a load of rubbish.” You do not wear a low-cut top for men.

Just ask Susanna Reid, who quipped on Instagram at the reaction she got to her plunging dress on Good Morning Britain this week.

“SHOCKER! Woman has cleavage,” she wrote, and went on to tag the designer Nobody’s Child so fans could find her glorious green gown.

Let’s be honest, Bridgerton is not hurting the sisterhood, and neither is any woman wearing a low-cut top.

THE BRIDGERTON BOOB TRIBES

The Sun’s Clemmie Fieldsend and Abby McHale look at the drama’s various boob tribes to see what their cleavages say about them.

DAPHNE BRIDGERTON

LADY FEATHERINGTON

LADY DANBURY

LADY BRIDGERTON

SIENA ROSSO

PENELOPE FEATHERINGTON

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